Bybit hacker has begun laundering 54% of the total stolen funds via THORChain, data from Lookonchain revealed. The hacker laundered 270,000 ETH, equivalent to approximately $605 million.
This represents over half of approximately 400,000 ETH stolen from the exchange. Bybit hacker still holds 229,395 ETH, valued at around $514 million at the time of the report.
The news had a significant impact on the crypto market, affecting the trading of ETH and THORChain’s native token, RUNE.
According to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, the stolen cryptos “have mainly been swapped for native BTC.” These funds were sent through THORChain by Lazarus-tagged wallets on Arkham.
Last Friday, Bybit’s Ethereum cold wallet was compromised, resulting in the loss of approximately $1.5 billion in assets. The hack triggered panic within the crypto community, causing the price of ETH to slump over 4%.
A key THORChain developer has announced his departure from the project following the reversal of a vote to block transactions linked to North Korean hackers.
The developer, known as “Pluto,” announced on X that he would immediately cease contributing to the cross-chain swap protocol. Meanwhile, another validator has also threatened to step away, deepening internal tensions over the controversial decision.
Laundering Activity Impacts ETH, RUNE Prices
According to CoinGecko data, ETH was trading at $2,123 at press time, a 9.8% decline in the last 24 hours.
At the same time, RUNE has been traded at a peak price above $1.60 since the hack. RUNE was seen trading at $1.33 at the time of writing.
Further, the total trading volume for ETH on February 28 reached $28 billion, reflecting heightened market activity. RUNE also saw a spike in trading volume to $1.2 billion, an increase from its previous day’s $800 million.
Additionally, trading pairs such as ETH/BTC saw a slight increase in volume to $4.5 billion, following the news. Meanwhile, ETH/USDT experienced a surge to $12 billion in trading volume.
Bybit Fallout Continues to Unfold
According to Dom Harz, co-founder of BOB – “Build on Bitcoin,” the largest theft is a “stark reminder of the industry’s fundamental issues.” He told Cryptonews:
“We’ve been hypnotized by price spikes, memecoin frenzies, and media spectacles, forgetting that crypto was meant to be a new financial system — one built on decentralized protocols that make finance accessible to everyone. Bybit just gave us a $1.5 billion reminder that we are nowhere near that reality.”
He also noted that the moment highlights that self-custody remains too complex for the average user, as many decentralised platforms rely on centralised infrastructure.
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